Breaking News

Editorials

Getting out the vote

What wonderful news! According to data analyzed by the Civics Center, the number of 18-year-olds registered to vote in Ohio as of Jan. 6 was a 35% increase compared with late August. According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, the Civics Center data shows there are more than 48,600 18-year-olds registered to vote here. Civics Center is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing voter registration and participation. “What we typically see is that registration rates, especially for the youngest voters, can go up very significantly when young people become more ...

Learn about our history

Black History Month offers an opportunity to consider the impact Black Americans have made on our lives, especially in the visual arts, music, literature, fashion and culture in general. “African Americans and the Arts” is the theme selected this year by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the founders of Black History Month. It’s a wide-ranging topic that examines how Black Americans have used art to preserve history and community memory as well as for empowerment, the association said. The theme puts into the national spotlight the richness of ...

Steps to stay healthy

For some residents it’s easy to chalk up seasonal symptoms to simply “winter in the Ohio Valley,” but the reality is there are some serious illnesses spreading across the Buckeye State. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data reported by WOIO, Ohio has been bumped up from “high” to “very high” for the number of influenza cases being tracked. Visits to medical facilities for flu-like symptoms are up 30.8% from the previous week. Visits to emergency rooms are up 15.6% from the previous week; and, according to WOIO’s reporting, thermometer sales are ...

More police training needed

Buckeye State residents have been bombarded in recent years by stories that indicate our law enforcement officers are not always fully equipped to protect and serve. Among the many calls for reform have been increasing the training requirements for becoming an officer in the first place. After all, according to a report by the Dayton Daily News, less training is required to become a law enforcement officer in Ohio than to become a barber or cosmetologist. Predictably, there are those in law enforcement who believe making it harder to become an officer is a bad idea. They say it will ...

Cheers & Jeers

CHEERS to all the local organizations holding fish frys this Lenten season. In addition to providing Christians an option for meatless Fridays, they serve everyone good food. JEERS to the fact that flames damaged multiple buildings at a local business this week, but CHEERS that Trigg Construction owner Gina Fuller plans to rebuild. CHEERS to all of the first responders who turned out to extinguish that blaze in Neffs. They did so quickly and without anyone being injured. JEERS to news that yet another home was raided due to animal hoarding. This time, a Piedmont woman is accused of ...

Final report crucial

A report set to be released this summer by the National Transportation Safety Board could go a long way toward improved train safety in America — an issue folks in nearby East Palestine, Ohio, continue to deal with. The report, as outlined by an Associated Press article, likely will produce valuable information for guiding railroads’ handling of such dangerous, health- and life-threatening events, going forward. Lessons need to be learned from the East Palestine disaster — namely better response times, better preparations from local emergency responders and better ...